10 Brain Boosting Super Foods
Eat smart; think smart. Energize your body and energize your mind.
SiamMandalay likes to promote healthy minds for everyone. It's why we're in the business of selling puzzles. We also like to promote healthy living - a healthy diet and healthy life choices.
An article by the Daily Mail recently twigged our ears, showing us the real benefits of some authentic superfoods, that can easily be fed into your diet plan.
After our interest was tweaked, we did our research and found there is a small collection of super foods which have been shown to improve general brain health, while others can at least prevent or slow down the effects of certain brain diseases.
It's important to tailor your diet appropriately and make sure that you get the necessary nutrients as part of your balanced diet. By incorporating a few targeted foods groups – you can reap benefits with special vitamins which have been proven to help assist in the replenishing and defending of your cognitive skills.
1. Tomatoes: The humble super-food in everyone’s salad. Tomatoes contain a key ingredient called lycopene which can help to fight cell damage - the same cell damage that is found in Alzheimer’s disease. Freshly picked tomatoes are packed full or nutrients, including lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamin C, A, E and B.
Keep your tomatoes freshly picked and store them in glass - this way they stay fresh, and you store all the wholesome goodness.
2. Avocados: are nutritional gems and are almost as good for your brains as blueberries. They are rich sources of a special monounsaturated fat that your body can easily burn for energy - no more beer belly. They are abundant in other rich, healthy fats, that can help you absorb nutrients more efficiently in other foods which contributes to healthy blood flow. Healthy blood flow; healthy brain.
Avocados provide close to 20 essential health boosting nutrients, including potassium, vitamin E, B and folic acid.
The most beneficial parts of the avocado are the one closest to the peel which consist of a deep green flesh. Avocados can help to reduce excess cholesterol, reduce inflammation and protects the liver.
3. Berries: blueberries, blackcurrants and goji berries are full of concentrated disease fighting nutrients. They have also been seen to boost short term memory and mental agility.
As we get older, damaged cells accumulate in the brain, which can lead to age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. That’s where these special little berries come in. They contain polyphenols, which give berries their deep-red or blue hue - this special ingredient helps to activate a process which “clean up” damaged cells.
4. Fish: Not just an old wife's tale! We now know that a substantial part of our brain is made up from omega-3 fats, making these fats vital for healthy brain function. In fact, 60% of the fats in the brain are omega-3 with DHA, the same type of Omega-3 fat that is found in fish.
Omega -3 fats are essential for healthy brain development both in the womb and in early childhood. About 75% of brain cells are in place before birth and the other 25% age of 1 year.
Most of advantages of eating fish are contained to during the pregnancy and the opening years of developments, however research has indicated that brain related conditions can be prevented or treated by taking in omega-3 fats – Alzheimer’s disease, depression, ADHD and dyslexia are among those.
5. Pumpkin: a timely inclusion if ever there was one. With Halloween just around the corner – pumpkins are a perfect choice. Pumpkins are chock-a-block with antioxidants and fiber to ensure your body is running smoothly; and plant based fatty acids which help improve brain function.
6. Broccoli: is a source of two critical nutrients that can help improve brain function. Firstly there is vitamin K which helps strengthen cognitive abilities, while choline has been shown to improve memory.
People who eat plenty of broccoli have been shown to perform better on memory tests. This super-food also contains folic acid, which can help ward away from Alzheimer’s and depression.
7. Nuts: Going nuts for brain health? We sure are. A large study from none other than Harvard University found that eating nuts had a correlation with brain health and living longer. However, from a brain health perspective, not all nuts are created equal.
Walnuts are the top banana when it comes to brain health. They have a high concentration of DHA and Omega-3 fatty acids. They have been shown to help the brains of infant children. One study even shows that mother who get enough DHA have smarter children.
8. Dark Chocolate: Who says that food can’t work wonders for brain efficiency and be delicious?
Studies on elderly people have shown that cocoa can improve the verbal fluency and cognitive functions, while eating a daily portion of dark chocolate has been found to improve blood flow to the brain.
So next time you don’t have to feel so guilty about your chocolate bar, your brain will thank you.
9.Sage: In a study of patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease, participants were given sage extract or a placebo for 3 months.
Those given the sage extract showed an improvement in cognition as well as less agitation. Sage has also been shown to improve mental clarity.
10. Freshly Brewed Tea: Two to three cups a day of freshly brewed tea – hot or iced – contains a modest amount of caffeine which, when used judiciously can help boost brain power, by enhancing memory, focus and mood.